Mithali Raj-led India beat West Indies by a massive margin of 155 runs to dethrone Australia from the top of the points table of Women's World Cup 2022. Centuries from opener Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur followed by almost-clinical bowling display helped India register their second-largest victory by runs in the history of 50-over World Cups.
Great start, faulty middle order
Chasing a daunting total of 318 at Seddon Park, Hamilton, West Indies got off to a blazing start. In-form openers Deandra Dottin and Hayley Mathews made use of the fielding restrictions and thrashed Indian pacers, especially veteran Jhulan Goswami who conceded 21 runs in a single over.
Despite struggling with lower back pain, Deandra kept Indian fielders on toes. She scored 62 runs from 46 deliveries including 10 fours and one six before losing her wicket to off-spinner Sneh Rana. The two openers put on 100 runs for the first wicket. After first scalp in 13th over, Sneh struck again in the 16th over to get rid of Hayley. The opener scored 43 runs from 36 deliveries including six boundaries.
After the openers' departed, West Indies suffered a massive batting collapse. Nothing seemed to work for the Caribbean batters as mix-up in the middle also led to two run outs. From 100 for no loss, they got bundled out for 162 in the 41st over. For India, Sneh took three wickets and Meghna Singh took a couple of wickets. Jhulan, Rajeshwari Gayadkwad and Pooja Vastrakar contributed with one wicket each as well. Jhulan also became the all-time leading run-scorer in 50-over Women’s World Cup.
India set mammoth target
Earlier Mithali won the toss and elected to bat first on a batting paradise. India got off to an idea start with Smriti and Yastika Bhatia firing on all cylinders. Yastika got out for a 21-ball 31 whereas Smriti carried on. Mithali failed to make an impact and got out after scoring five runs. Deepti Sharma got off to an ideal start but lost her wicket to Anisa Mohammed.
Harmanpreet walked in to bat when India were 78/3. On a batting pitch, Harmanpreet took her time and then took on West Indies bowlers. The two shared a 184-run partnership for the fourth wicket. This is the highest fourth-wicket partnership for India in ODIs. Also, it is the highest Indian partnership for any wicket in World Cup events.
Smriti got out after scoring 123 runs from 119 deliveries including 13 fours and two sixes. On the other end, Harmanpreet went on to score her third 50-over World Cup century. She got out in the penultimate over for 109 off 107 deliveries including 10 fours and two sixes. India could not finish with a flourish and could add only four runs to the score after Harmanpreet's wicket. For the loss of eight wickets, India posted 317 runs on the board.
